The Case of Leopold and Loeb Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kenwood

Nathan Leopold was the youngest son of a shipping magnate. Richard Loeb's father was the vice-president of Sears Roebuck. The Kenwood area was home to the wealthiest families in Chicago. It was from this very neighborhood that the two killers chose their victim.

They planned to kidnap him, kill him, then demand a ransom from his parents. Although neither Leopold nor Loeb needed the money, they hoped to remove suspicion from themselves by insinuating that the crime was committed by someone seeking ransom.

Answer: Bobby Franks

Fourteen year-old Bobby Franks was chosen at random by the killers as he walked home from the exclusive Harvard Prep School. An acquaintence of the Loeb family, Bobby had played tennis with Richard Loeb on occasion. Loeb lured him into a rented car to discuss a new tennis racket. Once inside, Bobby was stabbed in the head with a chisel and a rag was shoved into his mouth.

Answer: George Johnson

Using the alias George Johnson, the killers rented a car and opened a bank account to deposit the ransom of $10,000. They also used this name in their telephone conversations with Jacob Franks, the boy's father, and in their written correspondance to him.

Answer: Eyeglasses

After killing Bobby, the killers drove to Wolf Lake, where they disfigured his body with acid and dumped it into a culvert. Leopold removed his jacket, and in doing so, dropped his glasses. The glasses had unique frames and were quickly traced to him through the store where he had purchased them. Once arrested, each killer blamed the other for the murder.

It was soon made clear that both of them would stand trial for the murder of Bobby Franks.

Answer: Frederich Nietzsche

Both Leopold and Loeb were fascinated by Nietzsche's idea of the 'superman,' an individual whose superiority in all aspects renders him immune to any possibility of wrongdoing. The two believed that due to their families' station in life, that they were above the law and neither seemed to feel any remorse for the killing.

Answer: Clarence Darrow

An ardent opponent of capital punishment, Darrow knew that a jury would convict Leopold and Loeb and sentence them to hang. He pled them guilty before Judge John Caverly and argued against the death penalty. He hoped to use their youth to his advantage (both were only 19). Darrow also argued that their pampered upbringing had given them a skewed sense of morality. Psychiatrists who analyzed the pair revealed a twisted relationship between them. Loeb was the dominant leader, while Leopold was the follower who worshipped Loeb and saw him as the quintessential 'superman.' Some rumored it to be a homosexual relationship, but little focus was placed on this in the 1920s.

Answer: Life plus 99 years

Darrow convinced Judge Caverly to spare the killers' lives. Caverly's decision was based primarily on the fact that the state of Illinois had never executed anyone under the age of 21. Leopold and Loeb were given life sentences for the murder, plus 99 years for the kidnapping charge.

They were taken to the Joliet State Penitentiary to serve their sentences. Once in prison, they were afforded the same pampered treatment as on the outside. Food was cooked to their specifications, and they were allowed items such as various books, clothing and toiletries that other prisoners were prohibited from having. Eventually, they did establish a school for their fellow inmates and were able to put their privileged backgrounds and intellect to positive use.

Answer: James Day

Day claimed that Loeb had made homosexual advances toward him for years. Conflicting stories make the truth difficult to know for certain. Some reports claim that Loeb had been supplying Day and other inmates with cigarettes, due to the hefty allowance he received from his family.

Others state that Loeb attacked Day first with a razor and that he was killed in self-defense when Day managed to get the razor from him. Whatever the case, Richard Loeb bled to death on January 28, 1932 after receiving more than fifty slash and stab wounds. Day was charged but found not guilty by the prison inquiry board.

Answer: 1958

In 1958, Nathan Leopold was released from Joliet. He had spent the past 34 years in prison. During that time, he wrote a book, 'Life Plus 99 Years,' which told the story of the crime and his reasoning behind it. He admitted that the crime was 'in the forefront of his consciousness' and that he felt remorseful for his actions.

He commented on Richard Loeb, stating that he found it highly unlikely that Loeb was capable of feeling remorse and that his only regret was that they 'had been caught.'

Answer: 1971

After being paroled, Nathan Leopold moved to Puerto Rico, where he hoped to find privacy and start a new life. He wrote another book, 'The Birds of Puerto Rico' and married a widow. He died of a heart attack in 1971.